Scan barcode
bizzybee429's review against another edition
2.0
Update 1/13/18
Unfortunately, I'm lowering my rating to two stars because after reading another review and rereading a few excerpts, I realize that the trans rep was handled even more poorly than I previously thought. :( Disappointing.
I did not make any changes to my original review.
--
Review trigger warning: transphobia mention (it’s tagged)
Actual Rating: 2.5
There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that this book has, you heard me, gay. witches. The bad news is that they are not actual characters in the book; rather, they appear in a TV show/fanfic within the story. But, gay witches aside, this was such a fun, refreshing, and diverse read! I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I had an enjoyable time.
Before I begin, I want to give major props to the publishers for including a link to a list of all the content/trigger warnings for each one of their books! Other publishing companies, take notes, because content warnings are so important to include so that readers can make smart choices on what books to read (and not to read) and can avoid books that may be detrimental to their mental and emotional health. (For those interested, the list can be found here.)
This book really had those winter vibes, and it got me into that cozy, holiday mood that I’ve been missing out on this December. It’s a great rainy-day read, especially if you want the winter feel but without any holidays attached!
The characters were well-written, though not much of anything new. For about the first twenty percent of the novel, the narrators were largely interchangeable to me, and I wish that the voices had been more distinct in writing. Their actions and lives were certainly different, and yet their voices were the same. Soph’s character development was stunning, and definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. However, the other girls at the conference, save the main few such as Orly, Chris, and Yin, all blended together in my mind, and it would have been nice to get some different characteristics from all of them beyond physical descriptions and who was/wasn’t transphobic. (more on this later)
The writing flowed well, which was nice, but it often felt lacking in emotion, and did a lot of telling instead of showing. I didn’t really mind this, since it was an easy-read, but it would have been nice for it to give me SOMETHING more to think about besides what was on the page. This also made the romance have not as much chemistry as it could have, and in general the writing did not blow me away.
The plot in this book was slightly cliché, but it was a sapphic love story so who cares anyway?? I also loved the cabin setting and the inclusion of some of my favorite tropes such as.
This book is also fandom-positive, which I always enjoy, and it was nice to see fandom as more of a natural side plot instead of the main focus of the book.
Sounds like a pretty sweet book, right? Right?? RIGHT???!!??!?!??
There were two (and a half) things that really bugged me though. How unfortunate.
First, bi erasure. There is one part, during Soph’s narration, where all the girls are chatting at a pizza parlor and Soph is wondering if one of the girls had a girlfriend, and then the girl says this:
Now I’m going to talk about the trans rep and some issues I had with the way it was written, but I’m just going to go ahead and mark the entire section as spoilers (though all spoilers are minor). Trigger Warning for transphobia.
Okay! Now to discuss. The writing camp that this book takes place at is girls-only, and one of the camp attendees is trans. Her name is Orly and she is the most prominent character in the novel besides our two narrators. Orly’s roommate, Chris, is transphobic and consistently misgenders her, and states that she doesn’t feel safe sleeping in the same room as Orly. Not only that, but Chris tries to get all the girls in on a plan to make Orly feel unsafe and unwelcomed. Not only that, but Chris decides to write an article and send it to a “feminist” (the books word, not mine) magazine on her experiences, and she also moves out of her room and into one of the spare rooms because she feels so uncomfortable around Orly.
Now don’t get me wrong! Chris’s transphobic talk and behavior is challenged throughout the book, but surely not to the extent that it needs to be. Soph is the most outspoken against Chris’s transphobia, and makes a point to include Orly and become her friend; however, for such an outspoken person, she rarely, if ever, vocally stands up to Chris herself. This ticks me off. Tess is more “accepting” of Chris’s transphobia (”If what Chris says is true [about Orly being DMAB], my dad would be furious if he knew I was rooming with Orly;”) however, at least she vocally stands up to Chris more than once throughout the book.
I’m just so annoyed. Chris’s transphobia needed to be challenged so much more, and not just after she did the whole carrot fiasco (I won’t specify what the fiasco is for sake of spoilers – just know it was bad). Chris’s ugly, gross talk was only challenged by any of the characters after she “crossed the line” into a more physical form of bullying. Chris’s language needed to be shot down and not accepted from the beginning, and it wasn’t. Bullying is still bullying, no matter what form it takes. The metaphorical line was crossed as soon as Chris started outing Orly to the other girls. The idea that transphobia is fine as long as it doesn’t include physical bullying is not good.
Another thing that annoyed me is that Chris didn’t completely come around at the end of the novel. Sure, she doesn’t “investigate” Orly anymore, and she tries harder not to misgender her, but she never moves back into her room and is still pretty transphobic. And that annoyed me because the other girls were like “okay,,,, I guess you tried the best you could!!” and then became her friends. I wish that Chris’s redemption arc had been more poignant and that she had overcome, or began to overcome, her transphobic thoughts.
There’s another part that ticks me off at the end, and it occurs when Ms. Forsythe, the leader of the camp, gives a speech and says this (implied to be on the whole Chris thing): ”Please don’t add to the attacks on your friends and colleagues. Support your differences and accept them, even if you can’t celebrate them.” And I’m just here like nah, bro, you should definitely learn to celebrate your differences. How that statement came across to me was ”Hey, you can think these transphobic and TERF-y thoughts, just don’t say them to other people.” Like, hold on. You shouldn’t be thinking those thoughts. And if you are, you should be actively working to change those thoughts. Celebrate our differences and love everyone for who they are.
(As #OwnVoices reviews by trans readers are published, I will try to link some (with permission) on my review, here).
Another half thing that annoyed me was Soph’s blatant refusal to acknowledge that it isn’t safe for every person in the world to come out. One quote at the beginning reads,
To conclude, I just want to remind everyone that my opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof. When the finished product comes out, I will try to pick it up and see if some things are adjusted. This might still be a worthwhile read for you; however, I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping this one. It’s your decision.
I was provided an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof.
P.S. Got one more square on my #SapphicAThon bingo sheet completed! Made this one pink because this book is hella pink.
Unfortunately, I'm lowering my rating to two stars because after reading another review and rereading a few excerpts, I realize that the trans rep was handled even more poorly than I previously thought. :( Disappointing.
I did not make any changes to my original review.
--
Review trigger warning: transphobia mention (it’s tagged)
Actual Rating: 2.5
There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that this book has, you heard me, gay. witches. The bad news is that they are not actual characters in the book; rather, they appear in a TV show/fanfic within the story. But, gay witches aside, this was such a fun, refreshing, and diverse read! I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I had an enjoyable time.
Before I begin, I want to give major props to the publishers for including a link to a list of all the content/trigger warnings for each one of their books! Other publishing companies, take notes, because content warnings are so important to include so that readers can make smart choices on what books to read (and not to read) and can avoid books that may be detrimental to their mental and emotional health. (For those interested, the list can be found here.)
This book really had those winter vibes, and it got me into that cozy, holiday mood that I’ve been missing out on this December. It’s a great rainy-day read, especially if you want the winter feel but without any holidays attached!
The characters were well-written, though not much of anything new. For about the first twenty percent of the novel, the narrators were largely interchangeable to me, and I wish that the voices had been more distinct in writing. Their actions and lives were certainly different, and yet their voices were the same. Soph’s character development was stunning, and definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. However, the other girls at the conference, save the main few such as Orly, Chris, and Yin, all blended together in my mind, and it would have been nice to get some different characteristics from all of them beyond physical descriptions and who was/wasn’t transphobic. (more on this later)
The writing flowed well, which was nice, but it often felt lacking in emotion, and did a lot of telling instead of showing. I didn’t really mind this, since it was an easy-read, but it would have been nice for it to give me SOMETHING more to think about besides what was on the page. This also made the romance have not as much chemistry as it could have, and in general the writing did not blow me away.
The plot in this book was slightly cliché, but it was a sapphic love story so who cares anyway?? I also loved the cabin setting and the inclusion of some of my favorite tropes such as
Spoiler
the roommates trope, the making-food-together trope, and the oh-no-the-power-has-gone-out-whatever-shall-we-do tropeThis book is also fandom-positive, which I always enjoy, and it was nice to see fandom as more of a natural side plot instead of the main focus of the book.
Sounds like a pretty sweet book, right? Right?? RIGHT???!!??!?!??
There were two (and a half) things that really bugged me though. How unfortunate.
First, bi erasure. There is one part, during Soph’s narration, where all the girls are chatting at a pizza parlor and Soph is wondering if one of the girls had a girlfriend, and then the girl says this:
”’A guy at my new high school asked me out – if it weren’t so far, I’d introduce them so I could see what Max thinks of Evan.’”I was like okay, cool, cool. But then Soph ruins it by commenting in the exposition like this:
”So, not her girlfriend, and she’s straight.”And I was just sitting there like bruhhhhhhhh,,,,,,,,, bi people exist too you know and it would have been nice to not having Soph make those comments. I thought that this could have been part of Soph’s character development, but it wasn’t. And that made me sad.
Now I’m going to talk about the trans rep and some issues I had with the way it was written, but I’m just going to go ahead and mark the entire section as spoilers (though all spoilers are minor). Trigger Warning for transphobia.
Spoiler
Okay, first it should definitely be mentioned that I am cis. These opinions on the trans rep in this book are coming from a cis person, and by no means am I an expert on trans rep. When this book gets more reviews, and trans readers read it and make comments/have opinions on the trans rep, I highly encourage you to go read and support their reviews. These opinions are also taken from an uncorrected proof.Okay! Now to discuss. The writing camp that this book takes place at is girls-only, and one of the camp attendees is trans. Her name is Orly and she is the most prominent character in the novel besides our two narrators. Orly’s roommate, Chris, is transphobic and consistently misgenders her, and states that she doesn’t feel safe sleeping in the same room as Orly. Not only that, but Chris tries to get all the girls in on a plan to make Orly feel unsafe and unwelcomed. Not only that, but Chris decides to write an article and send it to a “feminist” (the books word, not mine) magazine on her experiences, and she also moves out of her room and into one of the spare rooms because she feels so uncomfortable around Orly.
Now don’t get me wrong! Chris’s transphobic talk and behavior is challenged throughout the book, but surely not to the extent that it needs to be. Soph is the most outspoken against Chris’s transphobia, and makes a point to include Orly and become her friend; however, for such an outspoken person, she rarely, if ever, vocally stands up to Chris herself. This ticks me off. Tess is more “accepting” of Chris’s transphobia (”If what Chris says is true [about Orly being DMAB], my dad would be furious if he knew I was rooming with Orly;”) however, at least she vocally stands up to Chris more than once throughout the book.
I’m just so annoyed. Chris’s transphobia needed to be challenged so much more, and not just after she did the whole carrot fiasco (I won’t specify what the fiasco is for sake of spoilers – just know it was bad). Chris’s ugly, gross talk was only challenged by any of the characters after she “crossed the line” into a more physical form of bullying. Chris’s language needed to be shot down and not accepted from the beginning, and it wasn’t. Bullying is still bullying, no matter what form it takes. The metaphorical line was crossed as soon as Chris started outing Orly to the other girls. The idea that transphobia is fine as long as it doesn’t include physical bullying is not good.
Another thing that annoyed me is that Chris didn’t completely come around at the end of the novel. Sure, she doesn’t “investigate” Orly anymore, and she tries harder not to misgender her, but she never moves back into her room and is still pretty transphobic. And that annoyed me because the other girls were like “okay,,,, I guess you tried the best you could!!” and then became her friends. I wish that Chris’s redemption arc had been more poignant and that she had overcome, or began to overcome, her transphobic thoughts.
There’s another part that ticks me off at the end, and it occurs when Ms. Forsythe, the leader of the camp, gives a speech and says this (implied to be on the whole Chris thing): ”Please don’t add to the attacks on your friends and colleagues. Support your differences and accept them, even if you can’t celebrate them.” And I’m just here like nah, bro, you should definitely learn to celebrate your differences. How that statement came across to me was ”Hey, you can think these transphobic and TERF-y thoughts, just don’t say them to other people.” Like, hold on. You shouldn’t be thinking those thoughts. And if you are, you should be actively working to change those thoughts. Celebrate our differences and love everyone for who they are.
(As #OwnVoices reviews by trans readers are published, I will try to link some (with permission) on my review, here).
Another half thing that annoyed me was Soph’s blatant refusal to acknowledge that it isn’t safe for every person in the world to come out. One quote at the beginning reads,
”I wonder if Freddy’s gay. But he’s never said anything to anyone we know. I have no patience for the closet. If he’s gay, he should come out. Coming out is better for everyone.”This felt like a slap in the face, for many reasons that are probably too personal to include in a review, but mainly because Soph legit did not comprehend for 90 percent of the novel that it wasn’t safe or good for every person to be out of the closet. I say it’s a half thing, because this was a part of her character arc, but it still was really annoying and not fun to read for a big part of the novel.
To conclude, I just want to remind everyone that my opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof. When the finished product comes out, I will try to pick it up and see if some things are adjusted. This might still be a worthwhile read for you; however, I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping this one. It’s your decision.
I was provided an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions are taken from an uncorrected proof.
P.S. Got one more square on my #SapphicAThon bingo sheet completed! Made this one pink because this book is hella pink.
luckybydesign's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Duet for letting me read and review this ARC.
The premise of this book was promising. I kind of love a boarding school/camp YA tale, and the scenario of a writing conference was a fun setting for this tale. There were good things about it, particularly the way the authors spin the transphobic storyline into one that's LGBTQ+ positive. I think the best thing about this novel was the way the different backgrounds of the characters allowed for the various perspectives to be explored.
My main problem is that the writing was kind of clunky. I found it difficult to keep characters straight, and reading as an eARC, it wasn't easy to flip back to check. As characters were mentioned, I found myself trying to remember who they were. The character of Chris seemed very unlikely, too. I understand that transphobia like this absolutely exists in the world, but the character's actions seemed unrealistic and didn't really match with what she kept describing as being "unsafe." The way the other characters responded, or didn't respond, also seemed really unrealistic, especially out-and-proud character Soph, and the conference staff.
The premise of this book was promising. I kind of love a boarding school/camp YA tale, and the scenario of a writing conference was a fun setting for this tale. There were good things about it, particularly the way the authors spin the transphobic storyline into one that's LGBTQ+ positive. I think the best thing about this novel was the way the different backgrounds of the characters allowed for the various perspectives to be explored.
My main problem is that the writing was kind of clunky. I found it difficult to keep characters straight, and reading as an eARC, it wasn't easy to flip back to check. As characters were mentioned, I found myself trying to remember who they were. The character of Chris seemed very unlikely, too. I understand that transphobia like this absolutely exists in the world, but the character's actions seemed unrealistic and didn't really match with what she kept describing as being "unsafe." The way the other characters responded, or didn't respond, also seemed really unrealistic, especially out-and-proud character Soph, and the conference staff.
maanorchidee's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts with a content warning: the characters in this book aren't always right, because they've been exposed to ignorance. Also, this book contains homophobia, transphobia, purposeful misgendering of a trans person, transphobic bullying and mentions to homophobic child abuse.
I have the feeling the people in the review section who keep yelling "THIS BOOK IS TRANSPHOBIC!!" might've completely overlooked that warning. I do have to admit that I might be biased, because I'm cisgender.
This book follows two teenage girls, who are assigned as roommates at an all-female writing program, and they both have a lot to learn.
Soph is from a wealthy family from Manhattan. She's openly gay and she absolutely cannot graps the fact that someone people don't come out, because in her eyes, they have to. If you don't, then you're just pathetic for hiding that part of yourself.
Tess is from a smallminded town and she lives on a farm somewhere. When a transwoman named Orly gets bullied at the program, she doesn't intervene, because she believes it will only make matters worse.
Again, I have the feeling that people who didn't like this book may not have understood that the entire point of this book is that they are wrong. The book follows both Soph as Tess while they start to learn other people's perspectives. Not only each other's, but everyone's. The world is not as black and white as they expected.
And I think that this book did a wonderful job of showing both Soph and Tess other perspectives. Soph has to learn the hard truth about how some people can't come out and Tess understands that not doing anything automatically gives the hatred side more power.
Because, after all, we all have a lot to learn and unlearn.
I have the feeling the people in the review section who keep yelling "THIS BOOK IS TRANSPHOBIC!!" might've completely overlooked that warning. I do have to admit that I might be biased, because I'm cisgender.
This book follows two teenage girls, who are assigned as roommates at an all-female writing program, and they both have a lot to learn.
Soph is from a wealthy family from Manhattan. She's openly gay and she absolutely cannot graps the fact that someone people don't come out, because in her eyes, they have to. If you don't, then you're just pathetic for hiding that part of yourself.
Tess is from a smallminded town and she lives on a farm somewhere. When a transwoman named Orly gets bullied at the program, she doesn't intervene, because she believes it will only make matters worse.
Again, I have the feeling that people who didn't like this book may not have understood that the entire point of this book is that they are wrong. The book follows both Soph as Tess while they start to learn other people's perspectives. Not only each other's, but everyone's. The world is not as black and white as they expected.
And I think that this book did a wonderful job of showing both Soph and Tess other perspectives. Soph has to learn the hard truth about how some people can't come out and Tess understands that not doing anything automatically gives the hatred side more power.
Because, after all, we all have a lot to learn and unlearn.
amerikanerin's review against another edition
5.0
what a pleasant surprise. this was not at all what I expected. very well done Tom.
bellesbooknook's review against another edition
1.0
Oh, do I have a bone to pick with this one...
I originally picked this up because I thought it'd be a light, enchanting book to read as part of my holiday-themed reading month. (You know, snow? Eh, eh? *nudgenudge) I went in thinking this would be a fluffy, happy book, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect because this book filled me with rage from beginning to end.
I'll admit, I didn't know a whole lot going into this book—only that it's about two girls who forge a friendship at a women's writing conference in the wintertime. Wholesome, right? Wrong, because one of the girls at this conference is trans, and the entire plot revolves around this poor girl facing severe transphobia through the entirety of the book, and it's both infuriating and agonizing to read. I will say this: there is a page at the start of the book indicating trigger warnings, and everything is challenged on the page. HOWEVER, I still have a huge problem with the transphobia in this book, with the primary character in the book who is the source of the targeted hatred and bigotry, and how this is all ultimately addressed in the novel.
So let me set the stage: the two main characters, Soph and Tess, meet as roommates at the writing conference. They meet with the other girls at this conference, get to know one another, and before long they discover that one of the girls, Chris, has a personal, deep-seated vendetta against another girl Orley, who is trans. And this is where everything becomes a shit show.
Okay, Chris is actually the most miserable, spiteful piece of shit ever and deserves her own section
She starts right out of the gate being hateful and obnoxious. When everyone in the conference is introducing each other, Chris is immediately self-righteous, stating that she's a journalist as well as a feminist, determined to stand up for women's rights and their safety and fight against those who undermine it, making it very clear that she's talking about Orley, who she apparently makes her feel unsafe...SO "unsafe" that throughout the novel Chris takes great lengths in telling all the other girls at the conference that Orley is "really a guy," and glares at her, making snide comments at her at every chance she gets. (Oh, but Orley is the one who makes HER feel unsafe?)
Her hostility toward Orley is instantly very obsessive and interrogative, of course because she’s a hard-hitting “journalist” (gag) and later declares to the other girls that she’s going to write an article about what she’s witnessing at this women’s conference and submit it to feminist blogs to expose the conference for what it is. First of all, this is just laughable, and if she were to really submit that to feminist blogs, guarantee they would all respond back calling her out for being transphobic. But LOL OKAY, way to call yourself a true "feminist."
Secondly, it drove me insane throughout the novel that she repeatedly used the excuse of being a "journalist" to justify her transphobia, because she's passionate about getting to the bottom of things and finding the facts...and used this as motivation to continue to antagonize Orley. It's especially infuriating when it's clear that it's no longer about "journalism" and quickly escalates to flat-out ridicule and bullying. At one point when all the girls are making snowmen or "snowsisters," Chris takes the carrot off of Orley's snowsister and places it lower so that it looks like a penis. Yes, excellent conductive journalism. Also, REALLY? ARE YOU FIVE?
Throughout the rest of the novel, Chris REFUSES to believe that she's doing anything wrong, because it's wrong that she has to room with a guy and she needs to get down to the truth of why Orley thinks "he's" a girl, according to her, because apparently that's more hard-hitting journalism than, y'know, actually being open to listen to someone and respect their identity and their pronouns. Even no matter how many times people correct her and tell her Orley IS a girl—even Orley herself!—nothing gets through to her. At one point when Orley tries to express her feelings as a transwoman through poetry to everyone, Chris just walks out of the room and says "I don't need to be poetry shamed in front of everyone."
Leave it to Chris to make it all about her. Never mind the fact that she's the one who's causing all the hostility and bullying this person who so far has still done NOTHING to her besides purely existing. Chris still makes it about her own "safety" and being shamed and singled out by others and later on crying when a peer advisor confronts her about her behavior and tells her that what she's doing is wrong. Like, really? You're CRYING? Oh poor Chris, this must be so hard on YOU. 🙄 Can't even imagine what it's like for this other girl who's life you haven't stopped making into a living hell since you met her. Like, literally NO. You do not get to cry for being a bigoted, hateful human being because no one else will join in with you. (Did I mention how much I hate this character!?)
The worst part about this highly transphobic character, though, is that throughout the novel one of the main characters, Tess, sways between showing indifference to Chris rather than standing up to Orley (because it's not her place and she doesn't want to get involved. Pfft) and at times even sympathizing with her and trying to make her feel included. Despite the fact that Chris is incredibly hateful toward Orley and tries her hardest to make her feel excluded. Like, really? You wouldn't sympathize with someone who was being racist, so how should this be any different? That's also giving that bigoted person the benefit of the doubt, giving them reassurance that their behavior is being tolerated and that at least one person will stick up for them. I get that this novel was trying to take a different approach and bridge the gap between people with different viewpoints, but Chris's behavior is a whole other level than just "I don't understand your identity." I'm sorry, but if someone is being actively hateful and prejudiced against another person, that person has immediately lost the right to feeling more included in the group. None of this "we all have different beliefs and need to get along regardless" bullshit, because trans peoples' existence is not up for debate, and being hateful toward trans people is not something that deserves to be chalked up to just "having different opinions," and respecting them.
Oh, and the topper: the conflict never truly ends up getting resolved? Like, it basically ends with Chris and Orley being put in a room together, Orley saying her final piece and putting Chris in her place, and Chris still being a pretty awful person—and still making it about her—and then it sort of just fizzles out and that's the end? There's the beginning of hope for Chris as she admits she's been researching about trans people (literally why couldn't you do that from the beginning?? That could've solved ALL your problems and concerns you held. Shows what a great journalist you are...) but she's still very imperfect and obviously has a long way to go. After what transpired throughout the whole novel, I was at least expecting a stronger resolution... but nope! We get Chris's half-assed apology and vague sense of character growth. Cool, glad I endured all that bullying and childish behavior for that!
Okay, so leaving the whole Chris the Transphobe behind (and erasing it permanently from my memory, I beg you), that's surprisingly not the only aspect of this novel where characters are less than perfect on the LGBTQ front. Take Soph for example. She's very out and gay...and yet she's also somehow the most oblivious lesbian ever??
- It's laughable how naive Soph is a lot of the time. When Tess tells her how Joey got his jaw broken for being gay, Soph says, "Tess, he needs to tell someone. It's against the law to hit someone." (LMAO)
- Also can we discuss how Soph is supposedly this super out and proud lesbian yet she doesn't know the fucking basics of coming out? Soph is adamant throughout the novel that it would be much better for everyone to be out and she has a seriously hard time grasping why some people would choose not to come out yet. Like, is she really so clueless that she can't possibly understand that not all places across the country are safe places to be out and gay? Or even that coming out is an incredibly personal decision that only that person can make for themselves? Seriously, how is she gay and also this dumb!
Ultimately, what I get out of this book and what it very much reads like is almost a Teachable Novel on how to be a good LGBTQ ally. To the point where a lot of the writing and the characters put in place feel stilted and unnatural, like they're more or less there just as a formula to create this overarching novel of various LGBTQ issues that are honestly very basic concepts and that I would think people in 2018 would already know. I'm also at this point where I no longer need "teachable" LGBT books.
Yes, I know that blatant transphobia and ignorance exists in the world—that doesn't mean I want a book full of it just so that I can reach the end and have the characters somewhat experience growth and learn their lesson. Those types of stories are no longer nearly as fulfilling as the ones where characters already come equipped with common sense and unwavering respect and support for others. In this way, this book feels immensely lacking and honestly pretty behind in its time. Especially since the transphobic plot line took up a large portion of this book, only for it to reach a very flimsy, not well deserved resolution, this is what made me lose the remaining respect I had for this book and ultimately led me to lower my rating to one star.
Other things:
- Dialogue isn't always the best.
- The writing has moments of being weak as well, like random exclamation marks and reading as somewhat stilted.
- For how central of a character Orley is, I feel like I don't truly know her character at all...which is a shame because I want to love Orley! But she just reads as flat and one-dimensional, not quite a fully fleshed out character.
- I didn't see it coming at all when Tess kissed Soph, because truthfully? I didn't sense any chemistry between them AT ALL. Like, not even a hint of, "Hm, this could happen." And not in a good way either? Like, it wasn't a good surprise, but more like a, "Wha--oh?? Huh??" I needed there to be at least some subtext of romantic tension and Tess being gay.
I originally picked this up because I thought it'd be a light, enchanting book to read as part of my holiday-themed reading month. (You know, snow? Eh, eh? *nudgenudge) I went in thinking this would be a fluffy, happy book, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect because this book filled me with rage from beginning to end.
I'll admit, I didn't know a whole lot going into this book—only that it's about two girls who forge a friendship at a women's writing conference in the wintertime. Wholesome, right? Wrong, because one of the girls at this conference is trans, and the entire plot revolves around this poor girl facing severe transphobia through the entirety of the book, and it's both infuriating and agonizing to read. I will say this: there is a page at the start of the book indicating trigger warnings, and everything is challenged on the page. HOWEVER, I still have a huge problem with the transphobia in this book, with the primary character in the book who is the source of the targeted hatred and bigotry, and how this is all ultimately addressed in the novel.
So let me set the stage: the two main characters, Soph and Tess, meet as roommates at the writing conference. They meet with the other girls at this conference, get to know one another, and before long they discover that one of the girls, Chris, has a personal, deep-seated vendetta against another girl Orley, who is trans. And this is where everything becomes a shit show.
Okay, Chris is actually the most miserable, spiteful piece of shit ever and deserves her own section
She starts right out of the gate being hateful and obnoxious. When everyone in the conference is introducing each other, Chris is immediately self-righteous, stating that she's a journalist as well as a feminist, determined to stand up for women's rights and their safety and fight against those who undermine it, making it very clear that she's talking about Orley, who she apparently makes her feel unsafe...SO "unsafe" that throughout the novel Chris takes great lengths in telling all the other girls at the conference that Orley is "really a guy," and glares at her, making snide comments at her at every chance she gets. (Oh, but Orley is the one who makes HER feel unsafe?)
Her hostility toward Orley is instantly very obsessive and interrogative, of course because she’s a hard-hitting “journalist” (gag) and later declares to the other girls that she’s going to write an article about what she’s witnessing at this women’s conference and submit it to feminist blogs to expose the conference for what it is. First of all, this is just laughable, and if she were to really submit that to feminist blogs, guarantee they would all respond back calling her out for being transphobic. But LOL OKAY, way to call yourself a true "feminist."
Secondly, it drove me insane throughout the novel that she repeatedly used the excuse of being a "journalist" to justify her transphobia, because she's passionate about getting to the bottom of things and finding the facts...and used this as motivation to continue to antagonize Orley. It's especially infuriating when it's clear that it's no longer about "journalism" and quickly escalates to flat-out ridicule and bullying. At one point when all the girls are making snowmen or "snowsisters," Chris takes the carrot off of Orley's snowsister and places it lower so that it looks like a penis. Yes, excellent conductive journalism. Also, REALLY? ARE YOU FIVE?
Throughout the rest of the novel, Chris REFUSES to believe that she's doing anything wrong, because it's wrong that she has to room with a guy and she needs to get down to the truth of why Orley thinks "he's" a girl, according to her, because apparently that's more hard-hitting journalism than, y'know, actually being open to listen to someone and respect their identity and their pronouns. Even no matter how many times people correct her and tell her Orley IS a girl—even Orley herself!—nothing gets through to her. At one point when Orley tries to express her feelings as a transwoman through poetry to everyone, Chris just walks out of the room and says "I don't need to be poetry shamed in front of everyone."
Leave it to Chris to make it all about her. Never mind the fact that she's the one who's causing all the hostility and bullying this person who so far has still done NOTHING to her besides purely existing. Chris still makes it about her own "safety" and being shamed and singled out by others and later on crying when a peer advisor confronts her about her behavior and tells her that what she's doing is wrong. Like, really? You're CRYING? Oh poor Chris, this must be so hard on YOU. 🙄 Can't even imagine what it's like for this other girl who's life you haven't stopped making into a living hell since you met her. Like, literally NO. You do not get to cry for being a bigoted, hateful human being because no one else will join in with you. (Did I mention how much I hate this character!?)
The worst part about this highly transphobic character, though, is that throughout the novel one of the main characters, Tess, sways between showing indifference to Chris rather than standing up to Orley (because it's not her place and she doesn't want to get involved. Pfft) and at times even sympathizing with her and trying to make her feel included. Despite the fact that Chris is incredibly hateful toward Orley and tries her hardest to make her feel excluded. Like, really? You wouldn't sympathize with someone who was being racist, so how should this be any different? That's also giving that bigoted person the benefit of the doubt, giving them reassurance that their behavior is being tolerated and that at least one person will stick up for them. I get that this novel was trying to take a different approach and bridge the gap between people with different viewpoints, but Chris's behavior is a whole other level than just "I don't understand your identity." I'm sorry, but if someone is being actively hateful and prejudiced against another person, that person has immediately lost the right to feeling more included in the group. None of this "we all have different beliefs and need to get along regardless" bullshit, because trans peoples' existence is not up for debate, and being hateful toward trans people is not something that deserves to be chalked up to just "having different opinions," and respecting them.
Oh, and the topper: the conflict never truly ends up getting resolved? Like, it basically ends with Chris and Orley being put in a room together, Orley saying her final piece and putting Chris in her place, and Chris still being a pretty awful person—and still making it about her—and then it sort of just fizzles out and that's the end? There's the beginning of hope for Chris as she admits she's been researching about trans people (literally why couldn't you do that from the beginning?? That could've solved ALL your problems and concerns you held. Shows what a great journalist you are...) but she's still very imperfect and obviously has a long way to go. After what transpired throughout the whole novel, I was at least expecting a stronger resolution... but nope! We get Chris's half-assed apology and vague sense of character growth. Cool, glad I endured all that bullying and childish behavior for that!
Okay, so leaving the whole Chris the Transphobe behind (and erasing it permanently from my memory, I beg you), that's surprisingly not the only aspect of this novel where characters are less than perfect on the LGBTQ front. Take Soph for example. She's very out and gay...and yet she's also somehow the most oblivious lesbian ever??
- It's laughable how naive Soph is a lot of the time. When Tess tells her how Joey got his jaw broken for being gay, Soph says, "Tess, he needs to tell someone. It's against the law to hit someone." (LMAO)
- Also can we discuss how Soph is supposedly this super out and proud lesbian yet she doesn't know the fucking basics of coming out? Soph is adamant throughout the novel that it would be much better for everyone to be out and she has a seriously hard time grasping why some people would choose not to come out yet. Like, is she really so clueless that she can't possibly understand that not all places across the country are safe places to be out and gay? Or even that coming out is an incredibly personal decision that only that person can make for themselves? Seriously, how is she gay and also this dumb!
Ultimately, what I get out of this book and what it very much reads like is almost a Teachable Novel on how to be a good LGBTQ ally. To the point where a lot of the writing and the characters put in place feel stilted and unnatural, like they're more or less there just as a formula to create this overarching novel of various LGBTQ issues that are honestly very basic concepts and that I would think people in 2018 would already know. I'm also at this point where I no longer need "teachable" LGBT books.
Yes, I know that blatant transphobia and ignorance exists in the world—that doesn't mean I want a book full of it just so that I can reach the end and have the characters somewhat experience growth and learn their lesson. Those types of stories are no longer nearly as fulfilling as the ones where characters already come equipped with common sense and unwavering respect and support for others. In this way, this book feels immensely lacking and honestly pretty behind in its time. Especially since the transphobic plot line took up a large portion of this book, only for it to reach a very flimsy, not well deserved resolution, this is what made me lose the remaining respect I had for this book and ultimately led me to lower my rating to one star.
Other things:
- Dialogue isn't always the best.
- The writing has moments of being weak as well, like random exclamation marks and reading as somewhat stilted.
- For how central of a character Orley is, I feel like I don't truly know her character at all...which is a shame because I want to love Orley! But she just reads as flat and one-dimensional, not quite a fully fleshed out character.
- I didn't see it coming at all when Tess kissed Soph, because truthfully? I didn't sense any chemistry between them AT ALL. Like, not even a hint of, "Hm, this could happen." And not in a good way either? Like, it wasn't a good surprise, but more like a, "Wha--oh?? Huh??" I needed there to be at least some subtext of romantic tension and Tess being gay.
lunarbarbie's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn’t what I read. It wasn’t particularly good but it wasn’t bad either, just meh. The protagonists were kind of annoying and one dimensional. The character development seemed forced and most of the book was about a trans girl being harassed. Listen, it’s 2018, why was someone so outraged and disgusted that they were rooming with a trans girl? I understand that there’s probably people out there in this world that think like Chris but honestly it made no sense to me how she felt so uncomfortable and uneasy about being in the same room as a “man” that she draw a penis on a snowsister! Also, Soph and Tess spent so much time trying to connect with Chris and understand her after she threw a hissy fit and hid away crying because everyone was going to attack her but they couldn’t do the same for Orly? I mean. These girls are supposed to be 17-18 years old but they act like children. Even the romantic development of the two main characters was underwhelming. You are telling me that Tess who was so afraid of being outed as a lesbian that she didn’t tell her out and proud lesbian roommate she had a fake boyfriend, who refused to hold hands Soph in public; would just all of a sudden come to the realization that she wants people to know about her sexuality and relationship after only a couple of days? Unrealistic.
steakhusband's review
dnf'd at 40%
I'm not feeling very strongly about either of the narrators, and I'm not liking some of the subplots going on :|
I do appreciate that there is a content warning at the beginning of the book, though.
I'm not feeling very strongly about either of the narrators, and I'm not liking some of the subplots going on :|
I do appreciate that there is a content warning at the beginning of the book, though.
whatthelog's review
1.0
Let’s start with the positive, shall we? I really liked how the book began with trigger warnings – I think that all books should start off like this, because it can be skipped by those who aren’t affected, and can be a huge benefit to those who are. So yay publishers!
The story follows two girls from two vastly different backgrounds. One a writer of fan fiction, and one a poet, and they have both been chosen to be on a writing conference for young women. Each chapter begins with a section from the fan fiction, and ends with a few lines of poetry. This was a really nice touch as you got a sense of their writing, even if the poetry wasn’t really for me.
Now, the LGBT+ representation – one of the girls was a lesbian, who at the beginning is a bit annoying because she can’t understand why people wouldn’t want to come out to everybody they know. Annoying, but she changes. So that’s good. And then there’s the trans character. (I am not trans, so please take all my critique with a grain of salt.) She is constantly misgendered by many of the other writers at the conference, which could be really triggering for trans readers. Not only that, but the misgendering and transphobia is not called out for quite some time – Tess in particular is given the opportunity to call out the antagonist, but chooses to be silent. And even once the antagonist has been called out, she is still given the benefit of the doubt, and given the chance to become friends with the other writers. This personally didn’t sit well with me. I understand what the authors were trying to do here, but I think it was executed poorly, as this character’s transphobic comments and actions have literally no consequences. The transgender girl’s pain seems to just be there to aid cis people’s learning, and I just didn’t like it.
Overall, I would not recommend this book.
The story follows two girls from two vastly different backgrounds. One a writer of fan fiction, and one a poet, and they have both been chosen to be on a writing conference for young women. Each chapter begins with a section from the fan fiction, and ends with a few lines of poetry. This was a really nice touch as you got a sense of their writing, even if the poetry wasn’t really for me.
Now, the LGBT+ representation – one of the girls was a lesbian, who at the beginning is a bit annoying because she can’t understand why people wouldn’t want to come out to everybody they know. Annoying, but she changes. So that’s good. And then there’s the trans character. (I am not trans, so please take all my critique with a grain of salt.) She is constantly misgendered by many of the other writers at the conference, which could be really triggering for trans readers. Not only that, but the misgendering and transphobia is not called out for quite some time – Tess in particular is given the opportunity to call out the antagonist, but chooses to be silent. And even once the antagonist has been called out, she is still given the benefit of the doubt, and given the chance to become friends with the other writers. This personally didn’t sit well with me. I understand what the authors were trying to do here, but I think it was executed poorly, as this character’s transphobic comments and actions have literally no consequences. The transgender girl’s pain seems to just be there to aid cis people’s learning, and I just didn’t like it.
Overall, I would not recommend this book.
rainbowsnorlax's review
1.0
(originally posted on The Writing Hufflepuff)
Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher (thank you!) in return for an honest review
The biggest problem I had with this book is the way the trans character was written and treated. Since I am cis I can't speak on behalf of the trans community, but I do want to share my concerns. I couldn't find any own voices reviews, but if you know of one or have written one please let me know so I can link to it!
Now, in the beginning of the book we get a warning that the two main characters are 'unreliable narrators' and there's a link where you can find trigger warnings for the book (which I do applaud!) but... That's honestly not good enough.
I'm going into details of how Orly was treated, so if that's triggering for you, you might want to stop reading.
At the writing program, Soph and Tess meet a girl named Orly, who we soon learn from Orly's roommate Chris is trans. You know how we learn this? Because Chris tells Tess that Orly is a guy. Chris constantly misgenders Orly and says she 'feels unsafe', but in actuality she's trying to 'get a story' out of it to sell (she wants to be a journalist), bullies her and tries to get all the girls at the program to be against her. There's a horrible transphobic 'prank' played by her and a lot more nastiness, but in the end, Chris is kind of forgiven. I'm not saying that the authors condoned this kind of behaviour, but they didn't do enough to condemn it either. In a lot of ways it even felt like the authors were trying to get us to sympathise with Chris, by showing her crying, letting her tell 'her side of the story', Tess continously trying to be nice to her and trying to be her friend and she even says 'All I was trying to do was understand both sides and not leave anyone out' CHRIS IS A TRANSPHOBE THERE'S NOTHING TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT AND HELL YEAH YOU LEAVE HER OUT
Not to mention, Orly and how she was treated by the other girls felt like it was just there for the development of Soph and Tess, two cis characters. When the novel starts, Tess tells us she has an interview to get into a certain school, in which she has to describe a recent incident where she took the lead. Guess what incident she's takes the lead in!!
Meanwhile when we meet Soph she tells us that her mom doesn't get that 'it's completely safe for her to be out' and 'it's not the 1950s. For about 90% of the novel Soph is constantly pressuring people to come out of the closet and preaching that 'it's better for everyone to come out'. I get that this was to emphasise that she's from a big city or whatever, but I'm Amsterdam which is supposed to be a very LGBTQ+ friendly city and I don't tell everyone that I'm bi?? Because I don't know if that's safe?? I also just don't understand how someone can be this naive. Soph is from New York - are you seriously saying that she's never experienced or saw someone else experience any form of homophobia? Even when Tess tells her it's not easy for her to come out, that her friend was beaten up by his father, Soph still doesn't get it and even says 'You know it's better to come out, Tess. Everyone is safer if we all come out and find each other. Don't you want to live without having to keep that secret?' She doesn't think of Orly's situation when she finally realises that coming out isn't the same for everyone, but it did feel like Orly was being used for this purpose.
Orly plays a big part in this story and so does the transphobia, but the story is never told from her perspective, just the two cis main characters who are basically her cis 'saviours' and that just felt wrong to me, especially since all of this was used just to further Tess and Soph's stories and development.
Another thing that really pissed me off, is the fact that Tess' sexuality was basically used as a plot twist. Like I said, we are told Tess and Soph are unreliable narrators. I don't know in which way Soph is an unreliable narrator, but Tess is one because throughout the entire book she keeps the fact that she's gay and that she's in a fake relationship with Joey to protect him from his homophobic dad from the readers. It made it feel like Tess' sexuality was a big plot twist, especially the way it was revealed, which just left a vile taste in my mouth. There was no reason to keep this from the readers. The romance would've been relatively the same except build up better because now it seemed to come out of nowhere.
There's also bi-erasure as Soph immediately assumes a girl is straight when she talks about her boyfriend. Other sexualities than gay and straight exist.
This book is just such a mess and I doubt the finished book will be much different, considering how big the transphobic arc is (which you don't even get from the blurb, which is really insensitive considering how triggering all of this can be). I really wanted to like this book, as it takes place at a writing program and has sapphic girls falling in love. I thought it would be like Fangirl (Tess writes fan fic and excerpts of that fan fic are shared) but gay, but instead I got this mess.
NOTE: I may have forgotten to mention a few things as I've marked A LOT of things (mostly problematic stuff, a few just... bad writing which I didn't even touch upon because that just feels insignificant in the light of the problematic aspects), but these are my biggest problems with this book.
Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher (thank you!) in return for an honest review
The biggest problem I had with this book is the way the trans character was written and treated. Since I am cis I can't speak on behalf of the trans community, but I do want to share my concerns. I couldn't find any own voices reviews, but if you know of one or have written one please let me know so I can link to it!
Now, in the beginning of the book we get a warning that the two main characters are 'unreliable narrators' and there's a link where you can find trigger warnings for the book (which I do applaud!) but... That's honestly not good enough.
I'm going into details of how Orly was treated, so if that's triggering for you, you might want to stop reading.
At the writing program, Soph and Tess meet a girl named Orly, who we soon learn from Orly's roommate Chris is trans. You know how we learn this? Because Chris tells Tess that Orly is a guy. Chris constantly misgenders Orly and says she 'feels unsafe', but in actuality she's trying to 'get a story' out of it to sell (she wants to be a journalist), bullies her and tries to get all the girls at the program to be against her. There's a horrible transphobic 'prank' played by her and a lot more nastiness, but in the end, Chris is kind of forgiven. I'm not saying that the authors condoned this kind of behaviour, but they didn't do enough to condemn it either. In a lot of ways it even felt like the authors were trying to get us to sympathise with Chris, by showing her crying, letting her tell 'her side of the story', Tess continously trying to be nice to her and trying to be her friend and she even says 'All I was trying to do was understand both sides and not leave anyone out' CHRIS IS A TRANSPHOBE THERE'S NOTHING TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT AND HELL YEAH YOU LEAVE HER OUT
Not to mention, Orly and how she was treated by the other girls felt like it was just there for the development of Soph and Tess, two cis characters. When the novel starts, Tess tells us she has an interview to get into a certain school, in which she has to describe a recent incident where she took the lead. Guess what incident she's takes the lead in!!
Meanwhile when we meet Soph she tells us that her mom doesn't get that 'it's completely safe for her to be out' and 'it's not the 1950s. For about 90% of the novel Soph is constantly pressuring people to come out of the closet and preaching that 'it's better for everyone to come out'. I get that this was to emphasise that she's from a big city or whatever, but I'm Amsterdam which is supposed to be a very LGBTQ+ friendly city and I don't tell everyone that I'm bi?? Because I don't know if that's safe?? I also just don't understand how someone can be this naive. Soph is from New York - are you seriously saying that she's never experienced or saw someone else experience any form of homophobia? Even when Tess tells her it's not easy for her to come out, that her friend was beaten up by his father, Soph still doesn't get it and even says 'You know it's better to come out, Tess. Everyone is safer if we all come out and find each other. Don't you want to live without having to keep that secret?' She doesn't think of Orly's situation when she finally realises that coming out isn't the same for everyone, but it did feel like Orly was being used for this purpose.
Orly plays a big part in this story and so does the transphobia, but the story is never told from her perspective, just the two cis main characters who are basically her cis 'saviours' and that just felt wrong to me, especially since all of this was used just to further Tess and Soph's stories and development.
Another thing that really pissed me off, is the fact that Tess' sexuality was basically used as a plot twist. Like I said, we are told Tess and Soph are unreliable narrators. I don't know in which way Soph is an unreliable narrator, but Tess is one because throughout the entire book she keeps the fact that she's gay and that she's in a fake relationship with Joey to protect him from his homophobic dad from the readers. It made it feel like Tess' sexuality was a big plot twist, especially the way it was revealed, which just left a vile taste in my mouth. There was no reason to keep this from the readers. The romance would've been relatively the same except build up better because now it seemed to come out of nowhere.
There's also bi-erasure as Soph immediately assumes a girl is straight when she talks about her boyfriend. Other sexualities than gay and straight exist.
This book is just such a mess and I doubt the finished book will be much different, considering how big the transphobic arc is (which you don't even get from the blurb, which is really insensitive considering how triggering all of this can be). I really wanted to like this book, as it takes place at a writing program and has sapphic girls falling in love. I thought it would be like Fangirl (Tess writes fan fic and excerpts of that fan fic are shared) but gay, but instead I got this mess.
NOTE: I may have forgotten to mention a few things as I've marked A LOT of things (mostly problematic stuff, a few just... bad writing which I didn't even touch upon because that just feels insignificant in the light of the problematic aspects), but these are my biggest problems with this book.
More...